Open Invitation to Submit Proposals for Targeted Analyses

23 December 2015 - Policymakers and practitioners at all administrative levels and territorial scales are key stakeholders for the ESPON 2020 Cooperation Programme. Through direct investments and policy implementation they are the important contributors to the achievement of European policy goals related to territorial development and cohesion.

In an era of growing global interdependencies, it is becoming ever more important for policymakers at national, regional and local levels, as well as European funded programmes, to have access to high-quality data and policy relevant evidence of their larger territorial contexts, in particular a wider European perspective.

The ESPON EGTC is therefore pleased to announce an open invitation to policymakers and practitioners to submit proposals for Targeted Analyses meeting their particular policy demands and evidence needs. These projects shall use ESPON territorial evidence in concrete practise with the objective of directly contributing to informing policy decisions and territorial development strategies.

How does it work?

Stakeholders develop their project proposals and submit them for evaluation to the ESPON EGTC. Selected proposals will be provided with the academic, administrative and financial capacity to organise and carry through the Targeted Analyses. An interactive and iterative process will be ensured which will bring together stakeholders and experts who will combine ESPON results with the knowledge and experience of policymakers and practitioners. The Targeted Analyses should therefore also provide practical insights into future development potentials and territorial challenges and, importantly, contribute ‘bottom up’ knowledge to the ESPON evidence base.

The results of the Targeted Analyses should also be useful for wider territorial contexts and capable of being transferred in practice to other stakeholders throughout Europe. Outputs should assist the outreach activities of the ESPON EGTC in bringing territorial evidence closer to policymaking. Moreover, Targeted Analyses should create added value for the ESPON 2020 Cooperation Programme by contributing insights from practice into the process of defining themes for applied research activities, the database and interactive tools produced by ESPON.

How to apply?

Stakeholders have an open invite for submitting proposals for Targeted Analyses. Twice per year the ESPON EGTC will communicate when the next selection round will begin.

The closing date for the submission of stakeholder proposals shall be on 9 March 2016.

Please be aware that the opportunity to submit stakeholder proposals remains continually open throughout the lifetime of the ESPON 2020 Cooperation Programme. Stakeholders are therefore welcome to submit their proposals at anytime throughout the year and these will be considered in the subsequent selection round. A further announcement on the next closing date for the evaluation of proposals shall be made during the first half of 2016.

Proposals can be submitted by groups of stakeholders sharing a common analytical need as well as by individual stakeholders. It is also possible to include relevant umbrella organisations from European level in the implementation and steering of a Targeted Analysis.

How will projects be selected?

Please note that during 2016 a maximum of six proposals can be selected for implementation. Project proposals will be selected by the ESPON EGTC on the basis of a competitive evaluation process using the selection criteria included in the guidance document. It is therefore important that applicants carefully consider their project proposal in the context of these selection criteria and complete the application form in full.

Please note that if your proposal is not selected during the first round it may be resubmitted for reconsideration in future rounds.

Who to contact for further advice?

Staff at the ESPON EGTC is available to field queries on developing project proposals. Please email any queries you may have to application@espon.eu.

More information

This invitation has been published at the Official Journal of the European Union, OJ C 50 of 10.2.2016.